On the right bank of the river Basento, close to the numerous springs by which it is fed, the square structures of the 7th century B.C. Greek oikoi had already been uncovered. This year, the extension of the excavation revealed the existence of wide, open areas, outside these structures, that were used for domestic activities. Cooking areas were visible, as were stretches of pavement made up of fragments of pithoi and other large impasto vessels. The signs of violent destruction (shortly after the mid 7th century) that characterize the Greek settlement at Incoronata are also present here. Several votive deposits came to light near the remains of the houses and along the banks of the streams formed by the springs. The majority comprise female figurines wearing a high polos (either conical or of truncated-cone shape), their arms outstretched, typical of the archaic Metapontine coroplastic tradition. These types are present in the urban and extra-urban sanctuaries of nearly all the Achaean colonies. Also found in these deposits were figurines of a later date, representing enthroned deities. A female bust, characterized by a polos decorated with modelled circles and leaves, holds what is probably a dove in its right hand. This attribute may be a reference to the cult of Aphrodite, practised in the areas of earliest Greek occupation, without a major structural manifestation. The only element of protection or sign of recognition that accompanied these offerings was a sandstone slab (sema), fixed vertically in the ground. The assemblage of materials seems to have been chosen specifically for use as offerings. All have links with the feminine world and practices involving water. Together with the figurines were numerous miniature pyxis with lids, small hydriai, krater-like vessels and small cups. The use of this area for ritual purposes can be dated to between the mid 6th and the mid 5th century B.C. (Maria Luisa Nava)